Volunteers

Every year I get these magical surprises growing between the bricks of my front patio. 

They are volunteers, and they come from summers past to grace us with their beauty. 

As I was photographing the one above, I also thanked it in my heart for choosing to be a part of my life, for choosing to be on this earth among us.

You see, these volunteers are not supposed to be here. They were supposed to have died during the harsh winter cold, when everything else died. 

They survived a frost so cold it broke our pipes. But it did not break the spirit of these beautiful flowers. 

In fact, it made them stronger. They are greener, and more vibrant than any you will find in stores. They have the spirit of those who walked through fire, and came back to tell about it. 

As Summer 2024 Gives Way to Autumn

Remember back when I thought if only I managed my time better I could get everything done? I was wrong. 

Life is very busy right now, and there truly is not a way around that reality. It is set to change in October with the beginning of preschool. I will have two full weekdays to ride my horse! 

I will have a lot more to say about horses when that begins. For now, I’ll catch you all up on life around here through photos. 

There will be a day when our 2 year old grandson can ride horses with us, but for now, we have settled on pulling him behind us on our bike rides. 

We invested in another e-bike, and have had many amazing adventures on them. 

Horse time has been sporadic, based around the grandson’s schedule, but we were able to take Epona and Tumbleweed on their first outing together a few weeks ago. 

Tumbleweed was very worried about Epona, so our day was spent working away from each other. Epona was worried at first, but after awhile she stopped calling back to him and focused on my daughter. When Epona stopped calling back, Tweed lost interest, too. 

We hope to do a lot more of that work as schedules allow. It’s super good training for Tumbleweed. Epona, on the other hand, has that ‘almost orphan’ mentality, and she doesn’t need the herd as much. During the day, we often see her grazing alone in a completely separate pasture from the rest. Tweed is the ‘herd leader,’ and always protecting his mares. 

If an older gelding drops into our lap next year, a new grandkid’s horse, I just might separate Tweed with him. I want my grandson to have a horse he can learn with and I’d like Tweed to have gelding companionship. 

In the past, I have only planted flowers and trees, no vegetables/fruits. This year, we planted a little barn garden using compost from Cowboy’s last stall to enrich the soil. It has provided basil for fresh pesto, tomatoes, peppers, and other herbs. 

Everyday I go out to water and enjoy a tomato or two fresh off the vine and I think about how wonderful life is and all my blessings, past and present. 

I call the barn my ‘sanctuary,’ and it always lives up to its name.